Research Article

Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Combined with Herbal Medicine in Treating Gouty Arthritis: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 1

Characteristics of included randomized trials of acupuncture combined with herbal medicine for gouty arthritis.

Study IDYearGender male/femaleSample sizeAge (mean or range, yrs)Course of disease(mean or range)Course of treatment, daysIntervention vs. controlOutcomesControl measures

JinRT 20112011I:29/1 C:28/2I:30 C:30I:47.50 ± 10.29 C:43.37 ± 11.34I:17.62 ± 44.24 C:17.92 ± 35.010Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromaroneClinical effect, UA, VASBenzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time
liuF 20112011NRI:34 C:36I:40∼60(52) C:40–60(52)I:2 month-4 years C:2 month-4 years5Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. acupunctureClinical effectAcupuncture: 1 time/day
liYM 20192019I:21/9 C:23/7I:30 C:30I:37∼72 C:35∼70I:3d-10 years C:7d-12 years10Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromaroneClinical effectBenzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time
ZhongYH 20212021I:28/2 C:29/1I:30 C:30I:18–80 (42.33 ± 14.36) C:18–80 (39.30 ± 12.99)NR14Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. febuxostat and colchicineClinical effect, UA, Scr, BUN, 24 hour urine protein, CRP, TCM score, AEsFebuxostat: 1 time/day, 40 mg/time; colchicine: 3 times/day, 0.5 mg/time
FengPD 20172017I:22/9 C:12/3I:31 C:18I:22–71 C:31–73NR14Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. dafen capsulesClinical effectDafen capsules: 1 time/day, 75 mg/time
ZhangSJ 20102010I:34/0 C:33/0I:34 C:3332–71 487 day-14 years3–7 daysAcupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium enteric-coated tabletsTherapeutic effectsDiclofenac sodium enteric-coated tablets: 3 times/day, 25 mg/time
LiuZY 20142014NRI:87 C:87I:44.1 C:43.4NR14Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. benzbromarone tabletsClinicaleffect, CRP, BUA, ESR, VAS, AEsBenzbromarone: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time
GuanFY 20142014I:28/2 C:29/1I:30 C:30I:31–72 (45.3 ± 6.17) C:28–70 (44.7 ± 6.40) C:1–10 (5.76 ± 3.77)yearsI:0.5–11 (5.71 ± 3.72) years7Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. meloxicam and sodium bicarbonate tabletsClinical effect, UA, VAS,Meloxicam tablets: 1 time/day, 15 mg/time; sodium bicarbonate tablets: 3 times/day, 1 g/time
XieYF 20152015I:41/4 C:42/2I:45 C:44I:40–73 C:42–72I:1d-14 years C:2d-13 years7Fire acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium enteric solution tablet and allopurinol tabletClinical effect, VAS,Diclofenac sodium enteric-coated tablets: 1 time/day, 75–25 mg/time; allopurinol: 1 time/day, 50 mg/time
ChenKW 20162016I:47/31 C:48/30I:78 C:78I:(54.1 ± 7.7) C:53.9 ± 8.1I:(4.1 ± 1.3) years C:(3.9 ± 1.4) years7Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets and allopurinol tabletsClinical effect, adverse triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and AEsDiclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets: 1 time/day, 75 mg/time; allopurinol: 3 times/day, 100 mg/time
JinZ 20122012I:29/1 C:27/3I:30 C:30I:23–67 C:25–66NR7Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. gout tabletsClinical effect, VAS, UA, AESGout tablets (Chinese patent medicine): 3 times/day, 0.12 g/time
liJY 20132013I:28/3 C:28/31I:31 C:29I:49.67 ± 9.33 C:46.53 ± 10.29I:4–11(7.1 ± 3.9)d C:2–10(6.7 ± 3.2)d21Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. colchicine vs. diclofenac sodium sustained-release tabletsClinical effect, UA, AEsColchicine: 1 time/day, 0.5 g/time; diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets: 1 times/day, 100 mg/time
WangMJ 20152015Male: 35 Female: 25I:20 C1:20 C2:20NR2–13 years7Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. Acupuncture vs. herbal medicineClinical effect, UAAcupuncture: 1 time/day, herbal medicine 2 times/day
ZhuC 20112011I:30 C1:30 C2:30I:30 C1:30 C2:30I:48.12 ± 11.21 C1:47.44 ± 11.29 C2:50.36 ± 11.07I:25.52 ± 9.87 C1:24.16 ± 10.07 C2:26.04 ± 10.036Acupuncture plus herbal medicine vs. indomethacin vs. acupunctureClinical effect, UA, ESR,Indomethacin: 3 times/day, 25 mg/time; herbal medicine: 3 time/day

Note: NR: not reported; I: intervention; C: comparison; Y: yes; N: no; AEs: adverse effects; UA: uric acid; VAS: visual analogue scale; Scr: serum creatinine concentration; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; CRP: C-reactive protein; TCM: traditional Chinese medicine; BUA: blood uric acid; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; Yrs: years; vs: versus.